SPHERE (which stands for Spectro-Polarimetric High-contrast Exoplanet REsearch) is a second-generation Very Large Telescope (VLT) instrument dedicated to high-contrast direct imaging of exoplanets whose first-light is scheduled for 2011. Within this complex instrument one of the central components is the apodized Lyot coronagraph (ALC). The principal aim of this paper is to report the first laboratory experiment of the ALC designed for the SPHERE instrument. The performance and sensitivity of the optical configuration was first numerically studied with an end-to-end approach (see the results in paper I subtitled ??Detailed numerical study??). Made confident by the results, we then tested a prototype on an infrared coronagraphic bench. We measured the transmission profiles of the apodizer prototype and the coronagraphic performance of the apodized Lyot coronagraph in Y, J, and H bands. The coronagraph sensitivity to lateral and longitudinal misalignments of its three main components (apodizer, coronagraphic mask and Lyot stop) was finally studied in H band. We can conclude that the prototype meets the SPHERE technical requirements for coronagraphy. 相似文献
Abstract: Soil water retention curves (SWRCs) provide an important means of describing the response of unsaturated soils during drying / wetting processes in terms of variations of degree of saturation, water content or void ratio with suction. A key consideration in generating these curves is how to measure the suction. Frequently the filter paper technique is adopted, especially when high suctions are developed, e.g. with plastic clays. As each measurement takes at least a week with this technique, it can take months or years to generate a full SWRC in drying and wetting. Developments in laboratory tensiometers now allow matrix suctions up to about 1.5 MPa to be measured. With such a device it is possible to develop SWRCs for granular soils such as silts and clays in hours or days by continuous measurement. This paper describes an experimental set-up that was developed to measure changes in volume, water content and matrix suction during drying of three granular soils. Limitations of the apparatus and usefulness of the curves are discussed. 相似文献
When a high-speed body with cavity passes through water-air free surface and exits water, its mechanical environment and dynamic characteristics change significantly due to the great difference in density and viscosity between water and air. With focusing on this problem, the Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) method is applied to perform numerical calculation on the process of this vapor-liquid-gas flow during the water exit of a high-speed cylinder, with the Volume of Fraction (VOF) multiphase flow interface-capturing techniques and the overset grid technology. After the verification and validation of the CFD model through mesh convergence study and a water-entry experiment, cavity evolution and flow characteristics including pressure and velocity distribution during the water exit are analyzed. The effects of different initial velocities on the pressure distribution and drag characteristics of the cylinder are investigated. Calculated results show that the cavity collapse during water exit causes strong pressure fluctuation on the cylinder; when the cylinder exits water enveloped in a supercavity, the pressure distribution on its wall surface and surrounding water region is relatively uniform, and the drag changes gently, and thus the cylinder has good motion stability.